pathlib 0.5

Object-oriented filesystem paths

pathlib offers a set of classes to handle filesystem paths. It offers the following advantages over using string objects:

• No more cumbersome use of os and os.path functions. Everything can be done easily through operators, attribute accesses, and method calls.

• Embodies the semantics of different path types. For example, comparing Windows paths ignores casing.

• Well-defined semantics, eliminating any warts or ambiguities (forward vs. backward slashes, etc.).

Requirements

Python 3.2 or later is recommended, but pathlib is also usable with Python 2.7.

Install

easy_install pathlib or pip install pathlib should do the trick.

Examples

Importing the module classes:

>>> from pathlib import *

Listing Python source files in a directory:

>>> p = Path('.')
>>> [x for x in p if x.ext == '.py']
[PosixPath('test_pathlib.py'), PosixPath('setup.py'),
 PosixPath('pathlib.py')]

Listing subdirectories:

>>> [x for x in p if x.is_dir()]
[PosixPath('.hg'), PosixPath('docs'), PosixPath('dist'),
 PosixPath('__pycache__'), PosixPath('build')]

Navigating inside a directory tree:

>>> p = Path('/etc')
>>> q = p['init.d/reboot']
>>> q
PosixPath('/etc/init.d/reboot')
>>> q.resolve()
PosixPath('/etc/rc.d/init.d/halt')

Querying path properties:

>>> q.exists()
True
>>> q.is_dir()
False
>>> q.st_mode
33261

Opening a file:

>>> with q.open() as f: f.readline()
...
'#!/bin/bash\n'

Documentation

The full documentation can be read at Read the Docs.

Contributing

The issue tracker and repository are hosted by BitBucket.

History

Version 0.5

• Add Path.mkdir().

• Add Python 2.7 compatibility by Michele Lacchia.

• Make parent() raise ValueError when the level is greater than the path length.